Llegó a ser un popular compositor e intérprete, muy conocido entre los amantes de la música cubana. Comenzó tocando la guitarra, el clarinete y el bongó. Fue el inventor del armónico, un instrumento de siete cuerdas, entre la guitarra española y el tres cubano. También tocó la tumbadora.
Comenzó su carrera musical muy joven cuando compuso sus primeras canciones y tocaba en grupos de Santiago con su conocido armónico. Pero su fama internacional le llegó en 1997 con su participación en el disco Buena Vista Social Club, el cual ganó varios premios Grammy. Compay Segundo apareció también en la película del mismo nombre realizada posteriormente por Wim Wenders.
En los últimos años actuó ante millones de espectadores y grabó nueve discos. No pudo cumplir su sueño de llegar a la edad de 116 años, en la cual murió su abuela. Falleció en La Habana debido a una insuficiencia renal con 95 años.
La canción más importante de Compay Segundo es "Chan Chan".
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Compay Segundo (November 18, 1907 – July 13, 2003), was a Cuban musician and songwriter.
Segundo was born Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz and brought up in the city of Santiago de Cuba. He became a songwriter and performer, well-known to fans of Cuban music. He was also the inventor of the armónico, a seven-stringed guitar-like instrument.
In his early years he played the guitar, the clarinet and the bongos. He also played the congas.
His curious stage name derives from the fact that he played second voice in a popular duet of the 1950s called Los Compadres (compadre, or compay for short, in Cuba means "baptism brother", but as a colloquialism is used also to designate a good friend).
However, international fame only came in 1997 with the release of the Buena Vista Social Club album, a hugely successful recording which won several Grammy awards. Compay Segundo appeared in the film of the same title, made subsequently by Wim Wenders.
His most famous composition is "Chan Chan", the opening track on the Buena Vista Social Club album, whose four opening chords are instantly recognizable all over the world. "Chan Chan" was recorded by Segundo himself various times as well as by countless other Latin artists.
At a fiesta he sang to Presidente Fidel Castro, who took his pulse and joked about his vitality despite his 90-plus years. "Who could have imagined that?" he asked when he found himself at the Vatican City, performing "Chan Chan" before Pope John Paul II. He explained his longevity simply: mutton consommé and a drink of rum.
He predicted that he would live to be 115, but died of kidney failure in Havana, twenty years short of his ambition, and three days before Celia Cruz.
a tus pies
Compay Segundo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La tierra toda ante tus pies pusiera
Si fuera Dios hasta los cielos diera
Por solo un beso en tu divina sien
Mis noches son para soñar tu imagen
Tu imagen es para encantar mi vida
Mi vida es para ti, prenda querida
Y tú para mi eterna adoración.
Yo me voy, mamá
Que yo me voy pa' oriente
Si te quieres divertir
Sube al puerto de Boniato
Y verás sin espejuelos
Como se fajan los gatos
Dos cosas tiene Santiago
Que no las tiene La Habana
El congri que es muy sabroso
Y el pru que salta la tapa
Cuando suben los choferes
De Santiago para Songo
La gente les va gritando: ¡chofer!
Que se me sale el mondongo
Yo me voy, mamá
Que yo me voy pa' oriente
Compay Segundo's song "A Tus Pies" speaks of a deep and eternal love that the singer has for his beloved. The lyrics begin with the hypothetical scenario in which the singer owns all the land in the world, which he would gladly place at his beloved's feet. He goes on to mention that if he were God, he would give up even the skies just to kiss her forehead. The singer then states that his nights are filled with dreams of his beloved, and that her image is what brings enchantment to his life. He proclaims that his life is dedicated to her and that she is the center of his eternal adoration.
The second part of the song takes a shift as the singer announces that he is leaving for the East. He tells his mother that if she wants to have fun and see without glasses how the cats fight, she should go to the port of Boniato. He then praises Santiago, a city in Cuba, for two things it has, which Havana doesn't: the delicious "congri" dish and the "pru," a local expression that refers to when something is very exciting or makes a noise. Finally, the singer repeats that he is leaving for the East, bidding farewell to his mother.
Line by Line Meaning
Si fuera dueño de la tierra toda
If I owned all the land in the world
La tierra toda ante tus pies pusiera
I would lay all the land at your feet
Si fuera Dios hasta los cielos diera
If I were God, I would give you the skies
Por solo un beso en tu divina sien
For just one kiss on your divine temple
Mis noches son para soñar tu imagen
My nights are for dreaming of your image
Tu imagen es para encantar mi vida
Your image enchants my life
Mi vida es para ti, prenda querida
My life belongs to you, beloved one
Y tú para mi eterna adoración.
And you for my eternal adoration.
Yo me voy, mamá
I'm leaving, mama
Que yo me voy pa' oriente
Because I'm going to the east
Si te quieres divertir
If you want to have fun
Sube al puerto de Boniato
Go up to the port of Boniato
Y verás sin espejuelos
And you'll see without glasses
Como se fajan los gatos
How the cats fight
Dos cosas tiene Santiago
Santiago has two things
Que no las tiene La Habana
That Havana doesn't have
El congri que es muy sabroso
The Congri that is very tasty
Y el pru que salta la tapa
And the Prú that bursts the top
Cuando suben los choferes
When the drivers go up
De Santiago para Songo
From Santiago to Songo
La gente les va gritando: ¡chofer!
People shout at them: Driver!
Que se me sale el mondongo
Because my stomach is about to burst
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AXIMO FRANCISCO AKA COMPAY SEG REPILADO MUNOZ, MAXIMO FRANCISCO REPILADO MUNOZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind